Outcast Queen: Her Return from Hell novel Chapter 315

Barrett Lowery glanced at the father-daughter duo, his expression completely unreadable. "Don't celebrate too early. Doesn't this feel too easy to you? With everything blowing up, why has Phoenix been completely silent? Even Pierce Sterling hasn't made a single move. That... doesn't make any sense."

Hearing this, Warren's thick brows knitted together. "Now that you mention it, it is strangely quiet."

"Dad, the Sterling Group just posted something!" Phoebe suddenly gasped. "They issued an official statement declaring that Phoenix's personal affairs have absolutely nothing to do with their company, urging the public not to misplace their anger!"

"What?!" Warren's face changed instantly as he snatched up the tablet.

When his eyes landed on the official press release from the Sterling Group, he was genuinely stunned. "This isn't right! Pierce defended her so aggressively before. Why would he authorize a statement like this?"

"Doesn't this just prove the rumors that Pierce and Phoenix are only in a contract marriage?" Phoebe scoffed, a sneer twisting her lips. "She's become a literal pariah. Why would a man as powerful as Pierce drag himself down for her? With the way the wind is blowing, unless he's brain-dead, he'd never stick his neck out for her again."

"You make a fair point." Warren nodded, easily buying into Phoebe's logic.

Barrett's frown deepened, and he remained silent for a long moment. His gut told him things weren't this simple. A man as dangerously proud as Pierce Sterling wouldn't just sit on his hands and do nothing, even if the marriage was purely transactional.

"Are we moving on to the next phase, Dad?" Phoebe's eyes gleamed with undisguised malice. She was itching to personally step into the arena and deliver the killing blow to Phoenix.

Warren took a long drag of his cigar, his eyes sliding shut. "Do it. We cannot afford an ounce of mercy. We have to crush her until there's nothing left."

"Dad, are you seriously going to ruin her completely?!" Julian burst into the office, his voice trembling with furious disbelief. "Phoenix is your biological daughter! She's my sister!"

"Get the hell out of here, you traitor!" Warren roared, slamming his hand onto the desk and hurling his lit cigar violently at Julian. "If you weren't my son, do you think I would have let you keep your job?"

Julian froze, a hollow numbness spreading through his chest.

The man glaring at him with such deep-seated hatred and coldness felt like a total stranger.

So this was the venom Phoenix had faced all along. These were the heartless words she had been forced to swallow.

As Phoebe strutted out of the office, Barrett finally spoke up again. "Are you absolutely certain about executing the next phase right now?"

"What, are you getting cold feet, Barrett?" Warren threw a mocking sideways glance at him. He had never respected this useless cripple. The only reason he had allowed Barrett into the company was to bolster Phoebe's status.

Barrett easily caught the heavy disdain in Warren's eyes, but he didn't care. "Cold feet? I'm already a cripple. What do I have left to fear? I just know that an animal backed into a corner will bite. I'm worried Phoenix is sitting on a hidden trump card."

"Relax. Without Ignis Global and Pierce Sterling backing her up, what does that bitch actually have? Both of her shields are too busy putting out their own fires to save her. Striking now is the only way to sever the roots and guarantee she never grows back."

Seeing Warren so blindly confident, Barrett decided not to waste his breath. "Fine. Then I wish you early success in securing your absolute reign over the Prescott family."

Warren smoothly lit another cigar.

Crushing Phoenix was merely the opening act. To truly cement his legacy, he still needed to rip the ultimate authority from Alistair's aging hands.